Friendship Bonuses

My good friend Sally brought me these peaches from South Carolina. They were juicy and delicious; positively succulent. And they were pretty to look at, also. It almost seemed a shame to eat them; but I did. You know it!! There are few things better than perfect, juicy, warm peaches; and eating them with the juice dripping down you chin..... aaahhh. I took their picture first, and Kevin looked at me like I was nuts for taking pictures of food like that.
This morning, Sally called me at 8:20.
"What do you have to do this morning, besides work?"
Why, nothing, come to think of it. Except feed horses, as usual.
"Could you come help me get this snake out of my kitchen?"
WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!
She called me yesterday afternoon and said there was a great big snake stuck on a glue board next to her stove. We were speculating as to how in the heck it crept into her house. I thought she would have thrown it out herself, but she said she tried and couldn't. (She is terrified of snakes.) Her husband, John, was at their mountain home, so he wasn't around to do it. Her house cleaning lady was coming over, and she is even more terrified of reptiles than Sally is, and wouldn't even come inside if there was a snake in the place. Sally said she was so terrified she had slept upstairs in a guest room, in case it got off the glue board and decided to explore the house - all 18 or so rooms of it. (Sally's usual bedroom is located downstairs in this monstrosity of a house. The rest of the rooms stay shut up except for when visitors are there.) I could hear the desperation in her voice. This snake was a real problem for her. I had solved a snake problem for her before, when a rather persistent fellow decided to make her front porch his home. They would shoo him off, and he would come right back. The house was being painted and the painters were scared spitless of it; so I picked it up and marched it's butt off to the woods and threw him into a brush pile. (My brothers taught me how to properly handle snakes when I was just a child.) So this morning, I stopped by to deal with this one, too.There he was, stuck to the glue board next to the stove. She had stuck another glue board on top of it, to really trap the sucker. "You hold the door;" I said. "I'll toss him in the trash bin." So I did. Sally sighed a huge sigh of relief. At least the house cleaning lady would come in now, and the place could be cleaned. Whew.
My friend Jackie gave me a whole bushel or so of her tomatoes. She picked them almost ripe so they wouldn't mash in the basket. So here they are, in my dining room window. The rest are in two other windows in the kitchen.
I am green with envy over Jackie's garden..... she is not only growing wonderful veggies, but tall, thick, gorgeous, brightly colored Zinnias and Marigolds! Her garden doesn't have one single weed in it. Sniff. MY garden is pathetic and drying up. Hers looks like a Mary Jane's Farm photo shoot! Plus, she has the coolest looking little chickens with funny "hair- dos", and the most fantastic baby geese! I LOVE geese! I WANT geese!
(Next year, Hos; next year.) Thanks for the tomatoes, Jackie. I will get you some sauce in your jars asap!